Opening the Floodgates
by Bryn Gwyrdd
Summary: A response to the Facebook group's challenge for a story beginning with a specific phrase for Valentine's Day. It's the day after their wedding and Lee and Amanda have made a few overnight discoveries, but will they ever find out about the most important one of all? A warning for adult content.


**Opening the Floodgates**

(Do I really need to warn you this has adult-only content?)

 _February 14, 1987_

"Happy Valentine's Day," muttered a disgruntled Marguerite Bowman, staring in disbelief around the remains of her office. When she'd left yesterday, her desk had been pristine, completely clear of everything except the tidy stack of folders, one for each wedding that Mr. Tagsworth had performed that day. Carefully organized, carefully coded, carefully piled folders of all the information that she had planned to send on to the Clerk of the Court on Monday to have them filed and registered within the five-day requirement. But now, none of that was there. Instead, here she was back at the office on a Saturday morning, standing in several inches of water on the floor, watching even more water from the burst pipe on the next floor up pour through the ceiling like Niagara Falls. The water had been gushing all night and the folders and all their contents were a sodden mush floating around the room like dumplings in gravy.

"Oh my Lord," she groaned to herself. "Why did I leave those out? Why didn't I lock them away in the file cabinet instead?"

Mr. Tagsworth sloshed into the room and stood beside her, watching sadly as the firemen finished pulling down the ceiling to get at the pipes. Their radios crackled with the announcement that the water shutoff had finally been found and the flow of water would stop any moment.

"Too little, too late," remarked Mr. Tagsworth. "Well, I got hold of Marilyn down at the Clerk's office. She said that given the situation, they'd be willing to waive the five-day requirement to file a marriage and extend it to a month, but we're going to need to get hold of all the couples from yesterday and tell them they need to come back and re-do the paperwork."

Mildred turned to look at him. "And what if we can't find them? All their contact information is on those floating balls of mush over there! The only trace I have of them is the film I dropped off last night at the photo booth."

Tagsworth shrugged. "If we don't find them, we wait for them to come looking for their copies of their licence and then marry them again, free of charge."

"So they aren't legally married if we don't redo the ceremony?"

"I imagine there's a case to be made in the courts either way depending on whether they're regretting it or not," said Tagsworth with a short barking laugh. "I always tell people Friday is a terrible day to get married."

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"Happy Valentine's Day, Mrs. Stetson," said a very contented Lee Stetson to his bride of several hours. The morning light was just beginning to peek around the blinds of their room at the Inn and he was taking advantage of it to enjoy watching the flush of heat that was rising on his wife's skin as he caressed her to wakefulness.

He was rewarded with a sexy chuckle against his chest by an equally contented Amanda. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"

"You bet I am," he drew her in even closer, draping one leg over hers to maximize the amount of her that was pressed against him. "You're stuck with me now."

She lifted her head to stare at him with a serious expression. "Did you think you had to marry me to keep me around?"

"No, but it can't hurt," he was grinning from ear to ear, unable to contain the pure happiness bubbling through him.

"You're crazy," Amanda couldn't help matching his expression. "But I love you anyway."

They lay wrapped in each other's arms quietly for a few moments more, before Lee spoke. "It's different now, right?"

Amanda began to laugh again, knowing exactly what he meant. "Yes, it is. It's better."

"I didn't think it would feel different but it does. And it _is_ better, I mean, not just this –" he cuddled her closer - "which I didn't even think could be better but it seems like everything's better." He paused, wondering how he could ask what he really wanted to know and then deciding to just ask it straight out. "Was it like this when you got married the first time?"

"Honestly? Some of it is. Saying the words and meaning them made me feel closer to Joe – it's a very bonding thing to publicly make a promise and actually, we have still mostly kept that promise to each other." She met Lee's enquiring expression and reached up to stroke his cheek. "Joe and I are still friends, we both love the boys. It was never very acrimonious – mostly we just drifted away from each other into a friendship that had stopped being a marriage."

"So what's to stop that happening to us?" Lee looked genuinely concerned that he might do something that would make Amanda just drift away. Unconsciously, he tightened his arms around her and she leaned in to gently kiss his cheek in response.

"Well, we're two different people. I'm not even the same person who married Joe. Joe and I were very young - all cock-eyed optimism and libido." She laughed as Lee winced. "But you and I were best friends before anything else. Joe and I went into it figuring we'd just build the relationship as we went along, but you and I – we've spent years building this."

"And you're still a cock-eyed optimist, so we have that going for us. So keep explaining it to me - why is it better?"

"Saying the words makes a difference. I don't know why, but it does. Especially for someone like you." She looked up at him through her lashes, teasing smile on her lips.

Lee couldn't help laughing. "Someone like me? What does that mean? Or should I ask?"

"You take a long time to say things, Sweetheart. It's kind of frustrating and endearing at the same time. I had to learn to interpret Lee-speak a long time before you actually opened up to me but fortunately being a mom of small boys helped with that."

He gave a shout of laughter at the way she equated him with Phillip and Jamie. "Lee-speak, huh? What does that involve? Is it anything like understanding Amanda-ramble?"

"It's exactly like that," Amanda chuckled. "You've learned to let me clarify my thoughts by talking out loud and I've learned to interpret your silences and what you mean versus what you say."

Lee looked vaguely affronted. "What do you mean my silences? I talk to you all the time."

Amanda seemed amused by his reaction. "You used to only have two speeds, Sweetheart. When we first met, it seemed like you would either just glare at me or yell at me." Lee opened his mouth to defend himself but stopped when she held up one hand. "You've always talked to me, but you didn't always say what you meant. But you showed me in a million little ways how you felt before you ever actually said anything to me. Look how long it took you to say I love you after we were already involved, but I already knew that before you said it."

That surprised him for some reason. "You did?"

"Of course I did. For heaven's sake, I made love with you on what was technically our first date. You know me well enough to know that isn't something I would have done if I wasn't sure how you felt."

"And here I always thought you were just no longer able to control your raging desire for me." He couldn't resist punctuating his words with light kisses along her cheek.

Amanda shivered with pleasure as his hand stroked her thigh in the same rhythm. "That too, but seriously, you never actually thought I just lined up to find out what all the fuss was about, did you? If that was true, I would have sobered you up that New Year's Eve when I got the sneak peek!"

Lee pondered that for a moment, "No, I guess I never thought about that."

"And Drunk-on-vodka Lee was quite chatty as well as being quite handsy."

Lee started to laugh, knowing this story couldn't end well for him. "He was? What did he have to say?"

"He was very sweet. He apologized a lot for being kind of a jerk most of the time and told me how nice I looked in my dress and how nice I'd looked in the dress I wore to the party at the British Embassy the week before and then he went back to wondering why I put up with him – which right at that moment was quite a different reason than normal – and then he told me he was really happy I was his friend and that he wanted to marry me someday."

"Really? Quite a different reason than normal?"

Amanda slapped him lightly on the chest. "I should have known that's what you'd pick out of that, but yes, since you had me pretty much naked at the time, I have to admit there was a strong temptation to stop listening to you at that point. I almost gave in to that."

"But you didn't," said Lee. "The temptation couldn't have been that strong."

"It was pretty overwhelming actually, but then you passed out. And that gave me time to remember everything you'd said about being your friend and why it was a bad idea."

"Drunk Lee was an idiot," muttered Lee. "He made Sober Lee waste a lot of time."

"No, Drunk Lee was pretty adorable. And besides, if I had given into temptation, it would have been too weird at work."

"Wasn't it weird at work for you anyway? Acting normal after all that nakedness?"

He turned his head and found Amanda giving him a long look which slowly turned into a knowing smile. He stared back while he tried to think through the timeline. "Oh my God," he said when it finally occurred to him. "The next time I saw you I made you marry me."

Her grin had broadened as she'd watched it dawn on him. "Yes, you did, Big Fella. I spent that whole cruise wondering if you'd remember any of it, torn between hoping you would and hoping you wouldn't."

Lee lay back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling, trying to retrieve the memories of that mission. "Well, that certainly explains a lot about that ceremony."

Amanda crossed her arms and leaned on his chest, chin resting on her hands. "I definitely wondered if you'd remembered when you kissed me. I could see it in your face but then you just sort of shook it off and that was that." She leaned forward to give him a kiss. "But you were usually much nicer to me after that, so that was good."

"I honestly still don't know why you did put up with me," sighed Lee.

"Well, you kept rescuing me, so that was irresistible and besides, I wanted to stick around and see if you were really going to marry me someday. And look how that turned out."

"Good point, Ma Chère." Lee pulled her up his body and into a deep kiss that left them both breathless. "But you know, you still haven't told me why it's better."

"Haven't I?" Amanda looked surprised. "Okay look, you don't express your emotions easily and so when you say things out loud, it's a real commitment for you. So, every time you admitted to me that I was your friend or that I was important to you, our relationship got better. When you told me you loved me, our relationship really got better. When you told the judge you wanted to be with me forever, this all got better. Saying things out loud makes it better." Lee opened his mouth to speak but she stopped him, laying a finger across his lips. "And no, I never doubted you even when you didn't say it, but hearing it, well, it always makes it special."

"And better."

"Even better."

"It can't be that simple."

"Of course it can, when you mean it."

"So does it bother you that we didn't do it as publicly as you and Joe did?"

"Well, it's not like it's going to be a secret forever right? But no, it doesn't. You said them to me – that's as public as it needs to be for now. You don't say things lightly and neither do I. And by the time we get back from our honeymoon, there should be a piece of paper in the mail confirming we said them and then I'll really be stuck with you."

"Hey, that's right. We're on our honeymoon." Lee's smile spread slowly across his face and his body tightened in expectation as he watched Amanda's eyes darken.

"I wondered when you were going to remember that," she said, draping one arm around his neck and bringing his head back down to hers.

Lee began to nibble his way down her throat and along her breast bone. "So, Morticia, want to play Scrabble?" he murmured, delighting as always in the sexiness of her laugh as she shivered against him.

His fingers traced down her ribs, then walked back up to cup her breast. He watched as her nipple hardened instantly under his touch and she shifted to press herself closer to him. He turned to take her other breast in his mouth and tugged gently on it, feeling his own arousal growing at the sound of her breathy whimpers. As her hips began to move in rhythm with the movement of his tongue, he lowered his hand to slip a finger into her welcoming warmth, increasing the pressure and rhythm to encourage her to grind harder against him.

Amanda ran one hand through his hair, caressing his scalp while the other drifted down over his shoulder and back. When her fingers brushed against the place where the bullet had grazed him only a few days before, he couldn't help flinching. Instantly she drew back and pushed him back against the bed, then began a long slide down his body. She paused to kiss the puckered scar from the bullet wound that had been his unwanted Christmas present just over three years before, then carried on down his chest until she was level with the latest scar. Sometime during the night, the bandage that had been covering it had come off and the red angry skin was exposed to her as she pressed light kisses around the edges of it, taking the greatest care not to inflict any further pain even as he tensed anxiously. When she moved one hand to grip him and begin stroking him while she continued the feather-light flicks of her tongue, all thoughts of pain vanished and he moaned appreciatively. In response, she turned her head and took him into her mouth, sliding her tongue firmly around his tip, sending jolts of electricity through his whole body.

"Oh, Amanda, you are so good to me," he groaned. If she'd heard him she gave no sign of it, simply increasing her efforts with mouth and hand, driving him almost insane with the humming moans she was exhaling against him. When he could stand it no longer, he pulled himself out from her embrace and brought her back level with him, rolling her onto her back and covering her with his body.

She smiled with satisfaction as she settled back against the bed, wrapping her legs around his, and rocking against him encouragingly. He lowered his head to press his lips against hers. What began as the most tender of kisses soon turned to a passionate duel of tongues and breathless gasps as their hands roamed over the familiar contours of their loved one's body. "Lee," she moaned. He didn't think he would ever tire of the way when she breathed out his name when they made love. Her hand had found their way between their bodies, and she was stroking and guiding him closer to her core.

As if by silent agreement, they both stopped for a moment, to stare at each other. Her eyes were so dark with desire that he could see himself reflected in them.

"I love you, Mrs. Stetson."

She grinned up at him, love shining in her face even as she laughed at him for enjoying those two words so much. "I love you too, Mr. Stetson." Her eyes widened with delight as he slid inside her slowly in response and they began to move to the rhythm of time immemorial. As the pace increased, they clung more tightly to each other, gasping words of love. They knew each other's bodies as well as their own by now and they both felt the impending crescendo rising in the warm flush of skin, the tightening of muscles, and the slightest hitch in breath.

Amanda could no longer tell if it was her own heart she could hear pounding or Lee's. She arched off the bed, her body clenched around him, his name a scream of exultation as she was overwhelmed by sensation and emotion. The sound of it sent Lee over the precipice as well, calling her name into her hair as he wrapped his arms around her to bring her even closer. Her body shuddered uncontrollably, accepting the warmth he was flooding into her.

She fell back against the bed, gasping, pulling him down and encouraging him to rest his full weight against her, his head cradled against her shoulder, his body still sheathed in hers. The first time she had ever done that he'd been tentative, concerned about crushing her but he learned over their months together that she really loved the feeling of being completely enveloped by him. She said it made her feel safe after the emotional exposure of orgasm and he had to admit, he loved the sensation of it as well. They lay that way in silence for a long time, catching their breath and letting the air cool their heated skin as the aftershocks ran across their nerve endings. Finally though, he lifted himself up, lips quirking up at the sound of distress she made when their bodies separated, and rolled onto his side, pulling her with him. She lifted her hand to stroke his cheek, smiling at the dimples that appeared as soon as she touched him.

"Better?" she asked.

"So much better," he answered, matching her smile. In a mirror motion, he brought his hand up to brush the hair back from her cheek while he leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"I love you, Amanda" he repeated. "Not sure if I've told you that lately."

"Can't hear it often enough," she said as her lips brushed against the pulse point on his neck. "I love you too." She cuddled closer to him. "I have a great idea. Let's never leave this room."

"That is a great idea. However, that maid will show back up at some point to interrupt us again and we also have tickets to a place with a much nicer climate and an even nicer bridal suite."

Amanda chuckled at his ready response. "Well, you have a point - we have _got_ to get away from that maid. So when do we need to leave?"

"Not for a while. Checkout is noon and our flight isn't until 4:00. I've booked a suite for the week at the Las Palmas Hilton and I told Barney we'd see him on Monday."

"I can't believe I finally get to meet the infamous Barney."

"The infamous Barney is looking forward to meeting you too."

"Well then, California, here we come"

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End file.
